I believe in freedom of our people in our country.

Four years ago my belief system changed, I think for the better. I had always kind of ignored or was lazy about watching the news and keeping up with world events. My husband has been in the National Guard for all of the 18 years we have been married, but I had always kind of looked at it as a weekend of fun, that I couldn’t participate in. I used to tease him when he said he was working 2 weeks straight because he had drill. Then the call came, it was his turn to go to Iraq.

Suddenly it didn’t seem like a "vacation", it seemed like I was losing him forever. All I saw everywhere was the news. People seemed to glorify in telling me what was happening over there. For months I had problems eating, and almost every night I dreamed about getting that call. You know the one where he’s not coming back home. My world revolved around checking the computer at 7 pm to see if he could get online to talk to me. Fortunately for me most nights he was there.

I learned from this experience that in order for me or anyone to think that being in the guard is a vacation, I had to be free to really not know. My husband, father, and now my son went into the military to do what they could and can do to help us be free. They do what they do so that we have the right to choose to pray or not, attend a church of our choice, or not. The freedom to vote on the person we trust with our country into government, the freedom to decide if we want to fight for our country and be free, or not. The freedom to pass on our country to our children so that hopefully they will grow up free too, or not. It’s our choice is what I believe.